What to do when your motivation is running low and you absolutely don't want to do something that needs to get done? If nothing is working for you, hack your brain with the following techniques to motivate yourself.

Soak in your super-enthusiastic, go-getter friend's energetic attitude over a coffee break; whether it is good energy or bad energy, energy of other people is definitely contagious.

Give yourself a five-minute break... while standing in a power pose (chest lifted, head held high, arms over head) and feeling like a powerful mountain warrior.

Turn your tedious, boring, time-consuming task into a game: how about for every successful 30-minute work session that doesn't involve you checking your Twitter account, you are one step closer to rewarding yourself with a cookie from your favorite bakery down the street?

If rewards don't work, you can always tap into your primal fight-or-flight response. Scare yourself into finishing that book proposal, taxes, PowerPoint presentation, or what have you, lest you face the possibility of embarrassment, losing your job, or having to go bungee-jumping with your friend.